


Ghost Boy

by Calesvol



Series: Naruto Events [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Childhood Sweethearts, Friendship, Gen, Japanese Mythology & Folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calesvol/pseuds/Calesvol
Summary: As Tsunade struggles with learning slug magic from Katsuyu, she summons a daemon who helps her along the way.
Relationships: Katou Dan/Tsunade
Series: Naruto Events [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185356
Kudos: 2





	Ghost Boy

Warning(s): G, none

* * *

“If Katsuyu-sama makes me do even another minute of meditation, I feel like my legs are going to fall off,” Tsunade groused to herself as she paced the expanse of a small glade the slug had relegated she study in. Rays of sunlight filtered through the breezily shifting foliage aloft, dappled shadows playing over the Senju as she restlessly tossed thoughts around her mind. As a kunoichi of the Senju clan, granddaughter of the famous warlord Hashirama Senju, and the sorceress Mito Uzumaki of the acclaimed Uzumaki clan, a lot rode on Tsunade’s shoulders to be just as prolific as they were.

Many expected her to be able to utilize forest magic that Hashirama had invented and pioneered, but no one before or since could wield it. It was something they had to be born with, Katsuyu had told her gently. And of course, it never showed up in Tsunade.

But, she was making up for it! On her own, the young Senju had managed to developed spell-strength that made her the strongest kunoichi of her clan. And under the wing of the slugs, she had become adept at healing and was learning it at a rate unheard of. Maybe she couldn’t regenerate whole limbs and organs like her grandfather, or blitz across the battlefield like her granduncle, but why should she? She was Tsunade Senju, and she was going to be her own woman!

The pall of bravado faded when Tsunade remembered that she was alone, feeling a little foolish. “Hang on, Katsuyu-sama never said I had to train alone,” the girl muttered to herself, a giddy feeling cresting within her.

The daemons, of course! Katsuyu was her principle daemon she learned slug magic from, but why couldn’t she have others? Mito had taught her the summoning formula, the sealing and summoning arts of the Uzumaki something she was keenly adept at.

Finding a sturdy block of wood did Tsunade find fashion a wand from a twig that would act as her writing instrument, concentrating a delicate amount of a fire spell into the tip as she began scrawling the lay lines and loopy calligraphy necessary to summon such a creature. With a final burst of chakra, Tsunade set the flat block of wood down, bit her finger, and dragged her thumb as a thin stripe of blood concluded the seal.

The price was paid, and now she needed to see the fruition of her summon.

A breeze picked up through the underbrush, refreshing and sweet as the first warmth of spring. Tsunade ranged her gaze, looking for this apparition, only to find her gaze suddenly filled with an inverted pair of seafoam green eyes and a curtain of violet hair.

“What the hell?!” Tsunade shouted in surprise as she abruptly punched the face squarely, only for the hit to connect and the boy it belonged to careened into the closest tree with a loud thud.

“Ow…” the boy hissed as he rubbed at his skull. If it hadn’t been for his slight transparency, she would’ve thought he was real.

“I’m so sorry!” Tsunade apologized as she rushed to the boy’s side, still nursing his head from the impact. “Um, are you okay? I can heal you…”

“Surprise!” the boy exclaimed with a grin. “I’m a ghost, so you can’t really hurt me. What’s your name? I’m Dan Katō, your daemon.”

“My daemon?” Tsunade echoed incredulously. Except, was this right? He was a boy, and probably no more than a year or so older than herself. That, and… he was a little cute. “I’m Tsunade Senju, and I’m training in the slug’s ways of magic.”

“You’re training with the slugs? That’s incredible, Tsunade-chan!” Tsunade couldn’t help but blush under his praise. How was he supposed to help her if he was so distracting?

“I guess so,” Tsunade answered with a modest shrug. “But, it’s a little boring so far. I’m trying to meditate, but I don’t really see the point.”

Dan looked thoughtful, all before he took Tsunade’s hand and the pair darted through the woods, navigating the fluted trunks of young, strong saplings and through the thick undergrowth. Before long, a ribbon of blue was visible through the waning treeline and she knew she’d come to the Naka River itself. However, this time felt much more poignant, more significant.

“You need to look at it differently. Come here,” Dan directed as he released her hand and took her to the river’s embankment, in the shallow tide pools in the lee of stones accrued on its shore. “When you meditate, the point isn’t really to just sit still and empty your mind. That can be part of it, but what meditating is really meant to do is focus on your place in the world. Like the river. See how it cuts through the valley, gradually eroding it away to make it a little deeper? Or how it carries silt and minerals to other parts of the lands it touches? Or how it reflects the sky, and nourishes the forest with the water it provides. That’s its place in the world.”

The way Dan explained it made so much sense, even more than what Katsuyu had told her. Tsunade peered into one of the tide pools where translucent frog eggs had been deposited for the season, of the little tadpoles already emergent and in different stages of growth. She thought about them, and the frogs. Of what they did, and what they brought to the world.

“I’ve never heard it explained like that before. Not even from Katsuyu-sama,” Tsunade admitted, having since squatted on the ground, skimming her digits on the water’s surface. The motion caused the tadpoles to dart into a small growth of cattails growing close by. “But, what’s my place in the world? Is meditation supposed to help me find that?”

Dan squatted nearby and smiled, an affirming, gentle look that made the Senju’s heart flutter. “That’s exactly it, Tsunade-chan.”

Tsunade smiled to herself, shier than what was typical of her. “I’d like to meditate with you, Dan-kun. I feel like I can find myself with you.”

“I’d be honored to, Tsunade-chan.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is for Tsunade Appreciation Week 2020's Day 6 prompt: Daemon AU.


End file.
